We talk about passwords a lot in this blog. It’s no big news that many people have insecure passwords and that this results in security risks.

But as a business owner or Director do you have any idea how many user accounts and passwords are in use within your business?

Sure you know everyone has an account to access your main network, possibly a separate CRM password and one for your accounts system too, if they are allowed access.

But what about your social media accounts – do you know everyone who has access? And what happens if / when those people leave – are you 100% certain their access will be revoked the second they walk out the door? What could happen if it’s not? Could a disgruntled employee use your twitter account to damage your brand, as happened with HMV?  Of course we hope staff leave amicably but the potential damage to your reputation from a disgruntled employee is enormous.

And it doesn’t stop there. There will for certain be many other web based accounts in use within your business – from file sharing applications, to portals for your partners and suppliers, your own website and intranet. All likely to hold confidential information – whether commercially confidential, your intellectual property or information subject to data protection laws.

Evidence suggests there will be a very high number of these you are not aware of so how can you be sure access will be revoked when it is no longer required? The simple answer is that without the right systems and processes in place – you cannot possibly hope to.

And without controlling these logins there is a good chance you are in breach of your commercial contracts and the data protection act. And exposing also your business to unnecessary risk.

Aside from the potential risk of not controlling these logins, how much time do your staff waste trying to find or reset their login passwords? It is likely more than you suspect I would guess.

So what can you do about it?  Well the first step is to understand the risk your business faces – an audit is likely to identify if a problem exists. Speak to Pro Drive today to arrange one – at the very least, you should understand your risk. Call us now on 0330 124 3599.